In the Midst of the Lonely Sea of Loneliness 15

It was the clanking Nia hated the most on those blasted carriages. The sound mocked not only its victims but also the parents of the victims as it tore families apart and sent defenseless children to the Fork! Factory!. For nine years the black carriage endured, scooping up children and holding them in an unbearable environment against their will. Even if some parents held on for hope that their son or daughter still lived, they would not have recognized them now. Tbe first children would have been in their mid-teens by now and the child that had left would not be the same child that would return. Nia's heart broke for them.

Artham, while he knew the black carriage had something to do with Gnag, couldn't fathom the horrors Nia had seen night in and night out. He wasn't the one who stalked the carriages to see the fate of the children or chased them down night after night. No, he had kept himself preoccupied with his own homestead, not allowing for the Jewels to be taken from him. He did not even fully understand the horrors Nia had seen outside of that but he knew there was something deeper going on.

With one glance, Artham knew within an instant that Nia was going to bolt so he quickly reached out and grabbed her wrist.

Nia was startled by this response and looked back at Artham with widened eyes.

"I see that look in your eyes." Artham looked into Nia's face, trying to understand what she was thinking. "What's going on...?"

"Eht nerdlihc, Mahtra! Yeht deen YM pleh. On eno esle si gniod gnihtyna tuoba siht os dnahnu em dna tel em og!" Nia stared back at Artham with a hardened expression on her face. "M'i rieht ylno ecnanhc."

Having a discussion with Neet was like talking to someone of a foreign language. Artham couldn't understand most of what she said and it was becoming frustrating that he couldn't speak to Nia the way they used to.

"What are you trying to do?" Artham asked with confused and squinting eyes. "You aren't trying to leave again, are you?"

Nia shook her head. "M'i ton gniog ot nur. I tsuj deen ot pleh esoht sdik!"

"You aren't? But then what are you doing? I don't understand, Nia." Artham expressed his concern, not wanting her to get into any more trouble than she already was with the authorities.

The venomous rattle of the carriage was getting further away, signaling to Neet that her window of opportunity was closing. She couldn't get Artham to understand what she was trying to do so she decided to just show him.

"Wollof em." Neet slid her paw up so Artham would be holding her paw instead of her wrist before she began running toward the path she found Janner the night previously. She hoped she could just show Artham what she's been doing rather than continue to fumble over herself explaining.

"Hey!" Artham felt a strong jerk when Neet took off running, which forced him to run with her.

He was quick to discover that Neet was way stronger and faster than he remembered before she went missing all those years ago. The force of which Neet was pulling him made it so he couldn't break free unless he wanted to risk running face first into the ground.

"Where are we going?!" Artham asked, practically tripping over himself as he tried to keep up.

"Kcalb egairrac." Neet replied. "Shh!"

After running for a couple minutes, Neet and Artham reached the edge of the forest, just yards away from where Janner had been the following night.

The sun had set and darkness was now covering the horizon like a thick blanket; there was hardly anything to be seen for miles.

Artham took a good look around with confusion before turning back to Neet. "What are we here for?"

Neet looked back at Artham, her eyes shining like that of a cat's in the moonlight. It was almost as if she could see in the dark. "Ti semoc."

Just when they had thought the carriage was further away, its clanking and creaking could be heard approaching once again. It was coming back down the main road, presumably after a quick stop in town.

Artham quieted himself and hid more carefully behind the bushes they had stopped at, unsure of what his sister-in-law had planned. Well, he had a feeling she was going to do something reckless... But he kept hoping she wouldn't.

As for Neet, she narrowed her eyes to the end of the road where the carriage was coming up from. She was very attentive to every sound, her nose seeming to twitch at even the noise of the horse's hooves. To Artham, it was like watching a cat pretend to hunt a bird outside while it itself was indoors.

Right when Artham least expected it, Neet broke free from his grip and launched herself into the air just as the carriage was passing. For the second time since he saw her, Artham got to witness Neet poof another fang.

Just like a repeat of the night Janner found her, Neet ransacked the carriage, killed the fangs, freed the captive, and set the carriage on its way- completely empty- all while Artham watched from the bushes in disbelief.

"This is what she's been doing all these years?" Artham wondered to himself, uneasy by risk Nia was taking. "No wonder she's been hiding. She's been poofing fangs every night for the past eight years!"

When it was all said and done, Nia told the captive the same thing she told the last one, "Go home. Run fast. Stay hidden until morning." It seemed to be scripted advice she gave to everyone she rescued but alas, the instructions never came out clear no matter how many times she repeated it. The words were always reversed.

Regardless, Nia quickly returned to Artham, her body shaking with the adrenaline she had just experienced. Despite the shakiness, she appeared quite proud of herself.

"... " Artham stared at Nia for an uncomfortable amount of time, seeming borderline concerned about what had just transpired.

"... Ew nac og emoh won." Nia said, content that she had done the right thing.

Artham had no clue what she had just said to him but knew they had better get back before anyone at home started to get worried. He proceeded to escort Nia back to the Igiby household with a new perspective on who Nia had become.

"How interesting..." The voice of Zouzab commented from the trees above, neither Nia or Artham none the wiser he was there. He stood as still as he possibly could in the tree, watching the two quickly leave the scene before shifting his attention to the Black Carriage in the distance. "Interesting indeed." He observed but a little longer before scampering back to Books and Crannies.

Meanwhile, back at the Igiby household, practically everyone was waiting on the porch for Nia and Artham to return.

A small yawn emerged from Leeli, who was sitting on the porch step with her head in her hands. "Grandma, when will Uncle Artham and Mama be home...?" She wondered aloud.

"It should be soon, dear." Wendolyn leaned down and patted her head. "You saw how much she loves you. She will be back very soon."

Despite his grandmother's encouraging words and reassurance, Janner wasn't sure if that was the case. He had seen his mother have a full blown meltdown just from having too many questions asked of her. Who knew what else could send her into such a state of panic? Janner just prayed to the Maker that his mother would return safe with his Uncle and that they could all rest easy knowing they were home again.

"Aye, she will be.. But that's no excuse to let you all stay up past your bedtime." Podo opened the front door and held it open. "Waitin' out here won't make them return faster. Janner, why don't you help Tink upstairs so you both can get ready for bed?"

"What?!" Tink whined. "I want to wait for Uncle Artham and Mama too! How come Leeli gets to stay?!"

"Kalmar Igiby. You mind your grandfather and go ready yourself for rest." Wendolyn put her hands on her hips. "I'll be sending Leeli up in a few moments."

Janner sighed as he stood to his feet. "Come on, Tink." He offered his hand. "It could be a long time waiting anyway."

Tink took Janner's hand and struggled to his feet. "Yes, Ma'am..." He mumbled a response to his grandmother before Janner helped him limp inside.

Podo followed behind the boys to ensure they got to where they were told to go.

Once her brothers were gone, Leeli looked up at her grandmother curiously. "Yeah, grandma... Why are you letting me stay up longer than the boys?"

"Because, my dear..." Wendolyn sat beside Leeli on the porch. "Sometimes it's nice to just have a moment alone with my beautiful grandaughter."

Leeli giggled and looked back toward the forest. "Grandma... Do you *really* think they're okay? I could send Nugget to find them just in case..."

"Honey, they'll be home soon enough and when they are... Your mama will want to give you a big hug." Wendolyn beamed.

"She will?" Leeli asked with a smile.

"Yes, my dear... And she could use all the hugs you got right now." Wendolyn sighed. "Your poor mother has been through a lot..."

"Yeah..." Leeli agreed. "I wonder why she's so sad... Is it because daddy isn't here?"

"I'm sure that's a big part of it... But we can't do anything about it. All we can do is love her and make sure she knows she's loved, right?" Wendolyn reassured Leeli, not wanting to weigh the child down with her own worries.

"Uh huh! And... asking the Maker to help her, right?" Leeli suggested.

"Of course, hon." Wendolyn smiled again and looked to the horizon. "Especially that."